This invention relates to a method of and means for conditioning photoconductive surfaces and while it has general application to the conditioning of surfaces it is particularly useful in continuous reversal printing and similar methods where high resolution is desirable and where effects due to surface abnormalities are likely to render the image or data less acceptable.
It is well known that with photoconductive surfaces a considerable problem exists in that when the surface is charged by means of a corona and the charge is then modified by light or similar bleeding, any defects in the charging or in the surface itself will affect the reproduction of the image in that there will be a change in the latent electrostatic image at the areas where the artefact occurred.
Thus it has in the past been thought desirable in some cases to dark rest the photoconductive surface prior to use to try and obtain a uniform condition of operation and when such a surface was then charged by means of a corona device there have also been various attempts to produce a form of charging which will give a completely uniform result as otherwise the final developed image will be subject to unequal development where the image itself has been modified by any charging irregularities or the like.